Power Plays: Biofuel's New Crop

The Wall Street Journal
SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
By MARA LEMOS STEIN And SARI KRIEGER

There has been a resurgence of investment interest in the U.S. biofuel industry focused on technologies that use algae to make fuel.

The appeal of algae is that it can potentially produce fuel without diverting food crops or large swathes of land. Ethanol derived from corn has been blamed by some for driving up food prices, while large-scale production of cellulosic ethanol would require cultivation of plants such as switchgrass that are grown only in small amounts now.

When exposed to light and carbon-dioxide, pools of algae produce lipids that can be refined into oil. The algae consumes the carbon-dioxide during the process, scoring a double hit for protecting the environment.

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